Browse "Noun" Characters

Every character has an origin. Discover the pictographs, myths, and history behind each Chinese character — with pinyin, stroke order, HSK level, and audio pronunciation.

买主

mǎi zhǔ

‘买主’ (mǎi zhǔ) is a compound noun meaning ‘

买家

mǎi jiā

买家 (mǎi jiā) literally combines 买 (mǎi), mea

买卖

mǎi mài

'买卖' (mǎi mài) is a compound noun meaning 'bus

猫奴

māo nú

‘猫奴’ (māo nú) is a lighthearted, self-deprec

野猫

yě māo

‘Yě māo’ literally combines ‘yě’ (wild, unt

猫粮

māo liáng

猫粮 (māo liáng) literally combines 猫 (māo), m

猫咪

māo mī

猫咪 is an affectionate, diminutive term for 'cat'

读破

dú pò

‘读破’ (dú pò) is a noun referring to the erro

标点符号

biāo diǎn fú hào

‘标点符号’ literally means ‘mark-dot symbol-sig

句逗

jù dòu

‘句逗’ (jù dòu) is a classical Chinese term re

识文断字

shí wén duàn zì

'Shí wén duàn zì' literally means 'recognize c

句读

jù dòu

‘Jù dòu’ refers to the traditional punctuation

识字

shí zì

识字 (shí zì) literally means 'to recognize char

见识

jiàn shi

‘见识’ (jiàn shi) is a noun meaning ‘experienc

常识

cháng shí

常识 (cháng shí) literally means 'common knowled

知识

zhī shi

‘知识’ (zhī shi) means ‘knowledge’ — the fac

谢意

xiè yì

‘谢意’ is a formal noun meaning ‘gratitude’ or

请柬

qǐng jiǎn

‘请柬’ (qǐng jiǎn) is a formal noun meaning ‘

谁家

shéi jiā

谁家 literally means 'whose family' and functions

母语

mǔ yǔ

母语 literally means 'mother language' — 母 (mǔ)

法语

fǎ yǔ

‘法语’ literally means ‘French language’ — ‘

日语

rì yǔ

'Rì yǔ' literally means 'sun language' — 'rì'

英语

yīng yǔ

‘英语’ (yīng yǔ) literally means ‘English lan

外语

wài yǔ

‘外语’ literally means ‘outside language’ —

普通话

pǔ tōng huà

普通话 (pǔ tōng huà) literally means 'common sp

广东话

guǎng dōng huà

广东话 (Guǎngdōnghuà) literally means 'Guangdon

国语

guó yǔ

‘Guó yǔ’ literally means 'national language'—

觉醒

jué xǐng

‘觉醒’ (jué xǐng) literally combines 觉 (jué)

觉悟

wù jué

‘觉悟’ (wù jué) is a formal noun meaning ‘enl

感觉

gǎn jué

感觉 (gǎn jué) literally combines 感 (‘to sense

自觉

zì jué

'Zìjué' combines 'zì' (self) and 'jué' (to fee

近视

jìn shì

近视 (jìn shì) literally means 'near-sight' —

视觉

shì jué

视觉 (shì jué) literally combines 视 (shì), mea

视力

shì lì

视力 (shì lì) literally combines 视 (shì), mean

见证

jiàn zhèng

‘见证’ (jiàn zhèng) literally combines ‘见’

见解

jiàn jiě

‘见解’ (jiàn jiě) is a formal noun meaning ‘i

意见

yì jiàn

‘意见’ (yì jiàn) is a compound noun meaning ‘

西餐

xī cān

‘Xī cān’ literally means ‘Western meal’ —

西风

xī fēng

‘西风’ literally means 'west wind'—a compound n

西方

xī fāng

'西方' (xī fāng) literally means 'west direction